How Divorce Can Affect Your Physical Health and Wellness

December 10, 2014
, A Jones , Comments Off on How Divorce Can Affect Your Physical Health and Wellness

It should come as no surprise that the emotional heartache and stress that individuals experience while going through a divorce can have a lasting impact on physical health and wellness. With so many marriages ending in divorce, it is highly likely that you or someone you know will have their health affected in this negative way. Understanding how and why divorce negatively affect your body will allow you to be better equipped to deal with it and lesson long term implications.

Health Problems Associated With Divorce

When a marriage ends in divorce, the stress of dealing with this major life change causes many divorcees to neglect their physical health. According to webmd.com, both men and women tend to reduce their exercise, neglect healthy eating habits, or skip visits to the doctor when they are sick. This period of not caring for your health can increase lifetime risk of disease and other illnesses.

Huffington Post published an article with a list of seven ways that divorce can affect a person’s physical and mental health. This list includes: chronic stress, trouble sleeping, weakened immune system, depression and anxiety, identity crisis, digestive issues, and weight gain. No doubt, there are others that can easily be added to the list as well.

Divorce Health Risks

Being aware of the possibility of these problems is the first step toward taking care of them. Finding healthy outlets to deal with negative emotional feelings can help reduce the chance your physical health will be affected. Taking the time to eat right, exercise, and sleep regularly will help tremendously. If you are going through a divorce, consciously tending to your personal health and emotional wellness will go a long way toward your healthy future. No doubt it’s a very tough time, but things will get better in the future.

Another way to reduce your health issues is to reduce the stress of the overall divorce process. Using a mediation service during your proceedings can open up the line of communication between both parties and focus on a peaceful resolution. Some of these mediation services, such as Out-of-Court Solutions, will help keep you out of court throughout the entire proceeding. With the legal and psychological expertise to help you through a mediation process that results in a final divorce, it can be a win-win solution for everyone involved.

Focus on the Goal

The goal of a divorce is to dissolve a marriage so both parties can move forward with separate lives. While it’s no doubt a difficult and stressful experience, focusing on dealing with concerns in a constructive way will help reduce negative health problems. Finding healthy outlets for dealing with the divorce stressors will reduce the chance of you having a lasting health problem as a result of the time spent going through this process. Consider alternatives to traditional divorce court, such as skilled mediation service, to make this separation easier for everyone involved.